News digest 11 October 2013

News digest 11 October 2013

11 October 2013

Today’s digest opens with some simple facts and figures. The Royal Mail privatisation went ahead this morning with shares sold at 330p, the top end of the price range the government planned. However, as the stock exchange opened the shares rocketed by 36 per cent to 456p. Business secretary Vince Cable says the shares were not undervalued, but a 36 per cent rise implies otherwise, fear for the future of the service as its assets are stripped, workers ‘modernised’ and executives demand ever more reward for ever less graft…

Don’t believe that, then just look at the energy sector. As the Indie reports that the Red Cross is to launch an emergency food aid plan for the UK’s hungry – people are struggling to heat or eat – and following yesterday’s price rise many of the papers take the government to task for doing nothing about energy prices. The Mail reports the energy minister Michael Fallon says people should boycott the greedy energy firms, however the front page of the Sun says all energy firms are set to stick two fingers up to all of Britain with huge price rises across the board, can’t really boycott them all especially as a cold winter is forecast. Looks like the Ed Miliband price freeze would be more than welcome, but it’s 17 more months to the election and the Mirror’s front page could be a doom laden augur of the future: “Fuel bills will kill.” Time to act, windfall tax anyone?

And talking of killing, people who spoke up for workplace safety and union rights in the construction sector took a step further to recompense as some construction companies have indicated they will take responsibility for blacklisting that destroyed workers’ lives, Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said: “These employers appear to be responding to union demands to ‘own up, clean up and pay up’. Thousands of construction workers have had their lives, and the lives of their families, destroyed just because they belonged to a trade union or raised concerns about health and safety in one of the most dangerous industries.” As well as compensation the call is for the reinstatement of workers, added Gail: “Employers have a moral duty to give them back the jobs that were wrongly taken away from them.”

And on blacklisting, the Morning Star features George Tapp, the activist who was badly injured during an anti-blacklisting protest who has said despite his severe injuries he will join the anti-fascist march taking pace in Liverpool tomorrow. Join him and thousands of others at noon tomorrow - more on #Unite1210 rally details.